Unexpectedly, Qi Zhixi is a person who is content with a simple life and does not covet wealth. Even Liu Shichu looks at him with admiration. Anyone who can resist temptation must have strong self-control and inner strength.
Everyone has their own aspirations. Liu Shichu is not the kind of person who would interfere with others casually. Besides, Qi Zhixi was not poached but stayed to work in her shop. She was the one who benefited from it, so she had no reason to force him to leave.
"I'll give you a raise because you do a great job and the guests like you very much." Liu Shichu said generously.
Qi Zhixi's eyes suddenly lit up, and the dimple on his left cheek deepened. He said happily, "Thank you, boss! I will definitely work hard here!"
He patted his chest and promised, then said a little embarrassedly: "Boss, I want to learn how to make cocktails, is that okay? Don't worry, I will keep the recipe a secret and will never leak it out. If you are worried, I can still sign a contract. If I leak the secret, you can punish me at will!"
Liu Shichu was a little surprised, but then he thought, there is no waiter in the store who doesn't want to learn how to make cocktails. After all, the salary and status of a bartender have been improved, and it is much more glamorous than the status of a waiter.
But because the bartender designs the mixing methods of various cocktails, Liu Shichu naturally has to find someone she trusts to do it, so the current bartenders in the store are all her servants, who have signed a contract to sell themselves.
But now Qi Zhixi suddenly said that he wanted to learn how to make cocktails. Liu Shichu couldn't help but think more about it. He looked at him seriously and said, "You know, only people I trust are qualified to be bartenders. But you didn't sell yourself to me, so you're not my servant. I don't trust you that much."
Qi Zhixi was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he still said, "That's too much for me to ask... Although I don't mind being a servant, I can't sell myself as a slave, otherwise my scholar father's coffin will not be able to hold it down."
His eyes, which had always been bright and beautiful, immediately dimmed, the dimples on his cheeks disappeared, and his handsome face was full of loss, which made him look particularly lovable.
Liu Shichu, who is obsessed with looks, immediately felt pity for him. He blurted out, "It's not impossible for you to learn how to make cocktails, but just sign the contract as you said. You can't reveal the recipe, otherwise you will have to pay a huge sum of money. Also, after you learn how to make cocktails, you have to work in my bar for five years. After five years, you can go anywhere you want."
Qi Zhixi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Really? Signing the contract is fine! Working for five years is fine too, I will definitely not leak the secret..."
When Liu Shichu saw him so excited, her whole body shone as if she was glowing. She no longer regretted the decision she had just made because of lust, and wrote a contract for Qi Zhixi to sign.
The cocktail recipe is actually neither difficult nor simple. It is easy to tell what kind of wine or other ingredients are used in the cocktails made by Liu Shichu's tavern. Even if you can't tell, you can try them out one by one. The dosage of the recipe is the same, so it is not very difficult to imitate her cocktails.
Although the taste of such counterfeit cocktails cannot compare with Liu Shichu's authentic cocktails, they can imitate 70% to 80%. Some drinkers who are not too picky or who are looking for cheap drinks will not care much about the difference in taste. Therefore, there is a market for other people's counterfeit cocktails, and the market is not small. After all, not everyone has the money to go to Liu Shichu's tavern to drink authentic cocktails.
Liu Shichu also knew this, so she was more tolerant of Qi Zhixi's decision to learn how to make cocktails, and didn't mind fulfilling his wish once, because she had the ability to withstand being betrayed by him. The worst that could happen was that the recipe for the cocktail would be leaked, and she could bear that result.
So Qi Zhixi was promoted from a waiter to a bartender apprentice. The other waiters were very envious, but his previous abilities were obvious to all, so everyone just envied him and did nothing else.
After Qi Zhixi became a bartender apprentice, he was extremely eager to learn. He followed several bartenders around to learn, not wasting any time.
It didn't take long for him to learn how to do it well. The tall and handsome man concentrated on mixing the various liquors and ingredients together. Each movement was graceful and neat, making him look elegant and handsome. Many girls pretended to pass by the bar casually, just to see how serious he was when mixing cocktails.
Every time Liu Shichu saw that kind of scene, he couldn't help but sigh that beauty could indeed produce great economic benefits.
In the General's Mansion of Liangzhou.
Cui Anhua held the letter in his hand, his brows furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川". He paced back and forth in the room angrily, looking anxious and helpless.
It turned out that what he was holding was a letter from Jiang Wenyue, which said that her due date was approaching and her belly was unusually big, but he was not around. She was panicked and terrified, and she really hoped that he could return to the capital to accompany her during the delivery.
However, Cui Anhua had stayed in the capital for several months when he returned to report on his work. He really had no excuse to return to the capital. He could not return to the capital privately without the emperor's edict, otherwise the emperor would suspect that he wanted to rebel.
Even though Cui Anhua wanted to stay with his beloved woman and wait for her to give birth to the fruit of their love, he had to consider the reality, which did not allow him to go back. Therefore, he was anxious and helpless. Although he was looking forward to and happy about the birth of the child, he was worried about Jiang Wenyue's health.
Jiang Wenyue is so weak, but she has to give birth to a child alone. How helpless and pitiful must she be? When Cui Anhua thought of this, he felt a pain in his heart and felt guilty towards the woman he loved.
However, he did not think about the fact that when his original wife and every concubine gave birth, he was not in the capital and could not be with them during the birthing. He did not think there was anything wrong with this at all, let alone feel guilty towards them.
Now that it's his true love's turn to have a baby, he suddenly realizes that having a baby is difficult and dangerous, and starts to worry and feel guilty... This is really ironic.
Only when a man truly cares about a woman will he care about her difficulties and helplessness during childbirth, and feel her pain; however, if a woman who doesn't care about her dares to complain about the pain of childbirth, he will definitely sneer and say that she is making a fuss. Which woman doesn't give birth? It's just hypocrisy!
But no matter how worried Cui Anhua was, he could only worry in Liangzhou City. At most, he could write a letter to the capital to comfort his beloved woman, but he could not help at all otherwise.
It was only when Wen Rumin brought little Jinrong to see her that Liu Shichu learned that Jiang Wenyue had given birth to three children, two sons and one daughter. However, the birth was very difficult and she was in pain for a whole day and night before she gave birth to the children. It is said that Jiang Wenyue's screams during labor pains could be heard throughout the Cui Mansion, which scared many unmarried girls.
"I went to take a look. The babies were as small as cats. They barely cried and looked very weak." Wen Rumin said with emotion, "The new wife was also injured this time. Triplets are a blessing, but not everyone can bear it."